One of the most common reasons that managers and supervisors retaliate against their employees is because they complain about harassment by the same manager/supervisor to higher ranked executive.
None of us like the complainer - someone who goes "behind our back" to tell on us to someone who has power over us. However, while in social situations saying negative things about someone might be rude and unacceptable, an aggrieved employee who feels helpless to resolve his issues at workplace with his/her immediate supervisor usually doesn't have a choice - the only person who he can and must turn to, as per the company's policies, is his boss' boss. This often leads to attempts by the worker's supervisor to retaliate against the complainant. Most supervisors no that retaliation (one kind of retaliation is taking adverse action against an employee because he complained about sexual or gender harassment, or harassment due to one's race or disability) at workplace is illegal in California, and therefore they will try to make the worker's life harder in more subtle but equally painful ways, such as issuing unfounded negative performance reviews, falsely accusing an employee of misconduct or even violence at workplace and otherwise trying to build a record or a paper trial to get rid of the employee.
If you enjoy your work and your workplace, and there is only one or two "rotten apples" that try to retaliate against you for your complaint, it is important that you discuss this situation with an experienced employment lawyer, with whom you would be able to come up with a strategy to deal with your specific situation, considering all the unique facts and circumstances of your career and workplace. Even though I am making a living out of both suing and defending employers, I firmly believe and convey to my clients that a job is better than a lawsuit a no job.
Comments